Wally Bourdet is an Arles native. She was one of Clergue’s first models, posing for him from 1967—when she was 17—to 1975. She’s one of the models that knows him best. Today at nightfall vyou can see her at Nord Pinus
A photograph is a way to make time stand still. Lucien Clergue, whose childhood was marred by illness and bombings, found in the medium a way to stop time from running its course. He sought to make timeless photos that would outlast trends and fashion. During these nude photo shoots, he would repeat: “Don’t move, I’m making you immortal, beautiful like the ancients.”
The ancients, like the myths that inspired Jean Cocteau in his Naissance d’Aphrodite and Née de la Vague. He would also say to his models: “You’re made of granite.” This unchanging granite, like menhirs, reassured him about the immortality of the beauty he sought. Photography has let him exorcise his demons, especially death. His pictures of bullfighting and carcasses are the main examples.
Read the full article on the French version of L’Oeil de la Photographie.
